Kickstart This! Ruin of the Reckless

Apologies for the lack of a Kickstart This! pick over the last three weeks, but No Man’s Sky has rekindled my love of space exploration and childhood dreams of seeking out new life and new civilisations.

Now I turn to a different type of discovery, one within the vastness of crowdfunding, where creativity oozes and begs for recognition and coin. There are plenty of games worthy of your attention, with some ridiculously fantastic titles such as Attack of the Mutant Fishcrows and Russian Subway Dogs. However, the project I eventually settled on, Ruin of the Reckless, is very reminiscent of the game I was playing prior to No Man’s Sky, Heart Machine’s Hyper Light Drifter, as well as other recent roguelikes such as Enter the Gungeon, Deathstate, and Nuclear Throne.

What Is It?
Ruin of the Reckless takes place within the titular tower, a trans-dimensional tomb for all the spirits of those reckless souls lost throughout the multiverse. Twisted ghouls and spectres came to this place to attempt to climb the tower, seeking to have their promise granted at the peak. But those that failed have become more powerful depending on how reckless they were in their lives. They may have lost all sense of desire to reach the top, but they will do anything in their power to stop others achieving the goal they could not. That is where you come in. You play a hero robbed of his riches, now left to climb the tower, seeking revenge against his enemies.

Why Fund It?
New developer Faux-Operative Games wants to make a game that captures the 16-bit magic of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, while at the same time making a fast and furious hack-and-slash fest, something it believes the genre currently lacks. The player can upgrade their weapons, magic, and armour to increase strength and speed at gift shops dotted throughout the ascension of the tower.

The dash movements of the main character bear a striking resemblance to that of Hyper Light Drifter, as does some of the artwork. However, the lore and setting feels more like a traditional top-down RPG, and differentiates it enough from other games, especially with the breakneck pace of the action. Add to this that each level of the tower is randomly generated, meaning no two playthroughs will ever be the same.

One of the more unique aspects of the game is the collection of cards which, when selected, change your game. For example, the Big Baby card may be useful if the challenge is just too hard, or the Death’s Door card means that everything, including the player, dies with one hit.

Previous rewards, plus help design a character within the game – $400 (limited to 3)

Previous rewards, plus help design a mini-boss – $500 (limited to 3)

Previous rewards, plus your own individual credit, and 10 copies of the game – $4000 (limited to 1)

Until Next Time…
Usually I end on some choice words to try and persuade you to add some positivity to the universe and help this project out by any and all means. In the Kickstarter pitch video for Ruins of the Reckless, Charles Webb, one half of Faux-Operative Games alongside Daniel Crockenberg, said it far better than I ever could:

We want to thank you, even if you don’t have the money. Don’t feel pressured. If you want to help us out, go talk to people. We want to thank you for that. Anything you do is appreciated. Because we’re a new developer, and we’re trying to make a name for ourselves. Anybody who is helping us do that, anybody who is telling your friends, if you can contribute to the project in any way, we thank you, and if you can’t, or if you don’t want to, thank you too. Thanks for checking us out, thanks for giving us a chance, thanks for giving us your ear for just a few minutes.

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In addition to being Warp Zoned's UK Correspondent, Andrew Rainnie is a screenwriter and filmmaker. You can email him at andrew AT warpzoned DOT com or you can, if you're inclined, visit his personal website.